


Some Time Alone In The Woods

by yeel



Category: Gravity Falls, ParaNorman
Genre: Fluff, Ghosties, M/M, Trigger Warning: depression, and monsters, but seriously FLUFF, fluffy fluff, mystery ~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-10
Updated: 2012-10-09
Packaged: 2017-11-16 00:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/533357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeel/pseuds/yeel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norman Babcock moves to Gravity Falls over the summer on doctor's orders, and meets some new people in this weird little town...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some Time Alone In The Woods

**Author's Note:**

> HI! Okay so I'm officially obsessed with Parapines, new OTP.  
> If you're wondering when I might update "Come What May", the answer is probably after I'm done with this...

It wasn't his first time out of Blithe Hollow, but the ceremony that his parents made it out to be made Norman feel as if he was off to his first day of kindergarten. Of course, he put up quite a show of reassuring his parents that he could handle himself, he was sixteen (almost seventeen), for fuck's sakes. He's been making his own mac and cheese since he was six, how hard could three months on his own be? Err, not that he actually said that to them... but for about a half an hour during the long car ride from the airport, he seriously considered it. 

But he can't really be whining now, after all of the effort, though unnecessary, that his parents put into his "vacation". Though it would be nice to get away for a while, it still felt like a punishment. But his parents weren't fighting, they were actually being reassuring... and even listening to him. So either they've had a change of heart or they're worried about his sanity. Probably the later. They put a lot of work into preparing him with everything and anything he could need, and were driving him all the way down to the overpriced cabin they rented for him to reside in, and all of the doctor visits must have been expensive...with all of the time and money his mom and dad had spent on him, he seemed expected to just be quiet and grateful.

The "incident" that led up to all of this wasn't even that big of a deal, though. And it's not like it's unusual for him to faint, this just happened to be the first time it's happened outside the privacy of his room. He guessed it would be an understatement to say that he hasn't been sleeping well. Or eating well. Or pretty much functioning well, for that matter. His grades had started to slip and he began to draw back from the people around him, even Neil had been left in the dark to his current life. But he just simply didn't feel right. He had started to feel uninterested in everything, even the cheesy horror movies that he's loved from when he was little. His favourite things to do lost their appeal, food started tasting all the same, and even talking to his best friend started to feel like a chore, a burden. He started spending all of his time in his room, only leaving to go to the bathroom, get a bite to eat, or (occasionally) go to school. 

The lack of sleep and nutrition took a huge blow to his immune system. He started to get sick frequently, and he would have to stay home at least twice a week until he could recover, only to go back to school again and start to feel worse.  
His parents started to notice his failed classes and asked him if he was doing drugs. That was just about the funniest thing his parents have accused him of. He never leaves the house, his only friends are Neil and a couple ghosts, and in Blithe Hollow? Really? He couldn't even get to drugs if he wanted to. Next they're going to be asking him if he's "active". Haha, yeah, right.  
The first time it had happened, he had just woken up from a brief sleep early saturday morning -around three a.m.- to the smell of two-week-old laundry and coffee cups growing semi-sentient life scattered about his room. Disgusted, he got up out of bed too fast in his sudden intent to tidy up, and fell right back down, almost hitting his head on the corner of his night stand. After being out for what he assumed was a few minutes, he awoke to the eerie yet familiar chill of his grandmother's presence.  
But hey, stuff like this happened, so for the most part he shrugged it off. But as the weeks went on and he started to feel tired and sick more often, he just couldn't ignore it anymore. But worrying about his health made him stressed, and being stressed made him jumpy and gave him frequent headaches. He knew that something horrible was bound to happen, and it was just a matter of time before his parents experienced one of these scares, but just his parents being around was one thing... But a crowded restaurant was another. Long story short, he got up to go to the bathroom because he was nauseous, felt light headed and put his arms out to catch his balance, hit a waiter carrying a pizza to their table, fainted, hit his head on the table, and ended up in the hospital. With a concussion like the one he sustained, he was forced to spend the night, and not only did that mean more ghosts than he could count, but that under his thin hospital gown, he could no longer hide his bony body and bruises under his baggy hoodie.  
The doctors had to ask all of the obvious protocol questions, "Have you been eating a balanced diet? Do you have a healthy home life? Are you being hurt by someone? Are you not eating on purpose? Do you need a psyche consult?" Etcetera, etcetera. The questions went on and on, and Norman answered them as sparingly and quickly as possible. He just wanted to go home. Admission, diagnosis, treatment, discharge. After the countless tests and the agonising waiting, the doctors had a long talk with his parents out in the hall, and while hooked up to an IV, all he could do is stare at their lonely faces through the slits in the blinds. When they came back in, the doctors explained to him that his body has been under too much stress, and started to shut down. He was dehydrated and malnourished, and that he would be able to leave soon. Then they handed him a piece of paper with the contacts of a few local therapists. His mom patted his hand, her eyes welling up, saying that her and his dad were going down to the cafeteria to get some coffee, but he knew that they just had to leave because his mom didn't want him to see her cry. His dad mumbled a "We'll be back soon," before walking stiffly out the door. As soon as he left, a ghost dressed in bloody scrubs and a white doctor's coat flitted in through the door and to the end of his bed where she leaned down to read his chart.  
"Sixteen, male, Norman Babcock. Admitted for severe depression and a blow to the head. Well kid, you're going to be discharged today." Norman sighed, so that's what they had told his parents. The ghost girl obviously didn't know that she was dead yet, because she was starting to fuss with the monitors and pretending to write things down about his current state. She then smiled weakly and floated out the door, flying through his real doctor, causing him to sneeze. For what seemed like forever, they talked about what might make Norman feel better, what might take the stress away. They decided that of all the things he needed, his doctor was prescribing something that he assumed he had been getting too much of- time alone. 

So then before he knew it, he was talking to his sister through skype about how their parents were officially shipping him off. She was being surprisingly comforting, and even made him feel a little bit excited. 

"Who knows," Norman said to the blurry picture of Courtney on his laptop, "maybe I'll make some friends."

 

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End file.
